Santa Barbara High scored two runs in the first inning and pitchers Evan Smith and Connor McManigal made them stand up as the Dons blanked Birmingham, 2-0, at the Chatsworth Tournament on Saturday.
Smith notched his second win in less than 24 hours. After picking up the victory against Ventura in a relief appearance on Friday, he started on Saturday and went five innings, allowing four hits and two walks, while striking out three. McManigal struck out three and gave up a single in his two innings of relief to pick up the save.
“We coaches were concerned about playing a good team today after a 2-hour drive and the emotional win yesterday over Ventura,” Santa Barbara assistant Mike Cooney said. “But the defense was impeccable and both Evan Smith and Conner McManigal threw strikes and kept ahead of the hitters. That’s a formula we hope to use more often the rest of the way.”
The Dons jumped on the Patriots in their first at-bat. John Brontsema singled in McManigal and later scored on a wild pitch from Jonathan Russomano.
Russomano surrendered only six singles in a complete-game effort.
Toby Minehan and Brontsema each had two hits for Santa Barbara.
Saturday’s win gave the Dons a perfect 3-0 week and improved their season record to 13-5. They are 3-0 in the tournament.
